Tracing Quotations
Napoleon Bonaparte? Blaise Pascal? Emmanuel Comte de Las Cases? Hugh Henry Brackenridge? Irving Babbitt? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The French military and political leader Napoléon Bonaparte has received credit for a statement about vision. Here are two versions in English: Is this attribution genuine? Would you please help me to find a citation in …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Imagination Rules the World”
Mignon McLaughlin? Alan Sheldon? Stephen R. Covey? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Receiving criticism is painful even when it is described as constructive. The witty journalist Mignon McLaughlin made a germane comment on this theme. Would you please help me to find a citation. Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1960 the unnamed columnist of “Thoughts …
Coco Chanel? Gabrielle Chanel? Pierre Reverdy? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The eyes of a lover gazing at you are beautiful. The fashion icon Coco Chanel (Gabrielle Chanel) said something germane: The only beautiful eyes are those that look at us tenderly. Would you please help me to find a citation for the original statement …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: The Only Beautiful Eyes Are Those That Look At Us Tenderly”
Thomas Henry Huxley? Charles Darwin? Herbert Spencer? Benjamin Franklin? John Dougall? John Tyndall? Question for Quote Investigator: An elaborate and magnificent scientific theory can completely collapse if a contradictory fact is uncovered. A prominent scientist called this methodological occurrence one of great tragedies of science. Would you please explore this topic? Reply from Quote Investigator: …
Voltaire? François-Marie Arouet? Jean Orieux? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A famous writer of the Enlightenment stated that God gave each of us the gift of life. It is our responsibility to take advantage of this gift by living fully and well. Voltaire has received credit for a remark of this type. Would you please …
Mark Twain? Baltasar Gracian? John Maynard Keynes? Norman Angell? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: An energetic liar can confuse, mislead, and deceive people. Yet, in many cases, that same liar is unable to reverse the deception. Hoodwinked people embrace their misperceptions. Here is a pertinent adage: It’s easier to fool people than to convince them …
Baltasar Gracián y Morales? Mountstuart Grant Duff? Joseph Jacobs? Christopher Maurer? Martin Fischer? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Thoughtful people periodically revise their opinions as their knowledge grows. Obstinate and foolish people develop an opinion and then refuse to change it even when evidence accumulates that their original position is deeply flawed. Clinging to erroneous …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Every Blockhead Is Thoroughly Persuaded That He Is In the Right”
John Maynard Keynes? Norman Angell? Carter Field? Lionel Robbins? Malcolm W. Bingay? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: With time and effort it is possible to bamboozle people, i.e., to fool or mislead them. Unfortunately, this process of deception can be so thorough that it is impossible to debamboozle them, i.e., to convince them of the …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: It Is Easier to Bamboozle People Than It Is To Unbamboozle Them”
Mignon McLaughlin? Leata McQuiston? Barbara Bush? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: “Be yourself” is an ubiquitous platitude. Here is a funny variant: Don’t be yourself—be someone a little nicer. Would you please explore the provenance of this quip? Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest instance located by QI appeared in a newspaper column called “Chatter” by …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Don’t Be Yourself—Be Someone a Little Nicer”
Coco Chanel? Gabrielle Chanel? Pierre Reverdy? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: People spend many hours in their homes. The fashion icon Coco Chanel (Gabrielle Chanel) recommended beautifying one’s abode. She said something like this: Our homes are our prisons; one finds liberty in their decoration. This saying resonates powerfully in 2020 because of the Covid-19 …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Our Homes Are Our Prisons; Let Us Find Freedom in Their Decoration”